


all i want for christmas is you

by buckybunnyteeth



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hockey, Friends to Lovers, M/M, fvsecretsanta2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-12 01:55:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9050650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckybunnyteeth/pseuds/buckybunnyteeth
Summary: Cisco and Barry meet when they are thirteen and playing hockey. They meet again twelve years later, in the same way.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kat28](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kat28/gifts).



“I close my eyes, thinking that there is nothing like an embrace after an absence, nothing like fitting my face into the curve of his shoulder and filling my lungs with the scent of him.”  
― Jodi Picoult, Keeping Faith

 

“Ouch!”

“Sorry!”

Barry claps his gloved hands over his eyes so the other boy doesn’t see the tears forming there.

“Okay. Crap, Okay, this is totally broken dude, we need to call someone.”

“Broken!” Barry squawks.

“Well I think it is- not my scientific area, dude!”

“Alright,” Coach says, sounding frantic, “Oh, _Jeeezy petes_ I’d better call the parents. Hit the showers boys.”

Barry lifts up his gloves to peer down at Cisco. He’s still in his hockey kit, the long strands of his hair curling out from under his helmet and he’s looking down at Barry’s swollen knee with a vaguely green expression.

“That’s what I get for letting that jerk hip check me, right?” Barry says with a grimace, trying to cheer his friend up. 

“Someone should have been on you,” Cisco says leveling an icy glare at one of the guys standing around them in a circle, “The other team knows we’re the fast little guys, that’s why we have big _meat head idiots_ to keep us from getting thrown down.”

“What did you just call me Ramon-”

“No fighting!” Coach snaps, holding a hand over her phone while she glares at them all, “Now hit the showers before I drag you all in there myself! Cisco we need to get Barry off of the ice, do you think you can manage?”

Cisco nods before she can stop talking and smiles down at Barry.

“Ready to be vertical again, dude?”

Barry nods and slings his arm around his friend’s shoulders when he bends down. It’s painful to move and awkward on account of them both still wearing their hockey gear, but they manage to make it to the seats on the side of the ring. Cisco lies Barry down and starts stripping his gear off.

“Buy me dinner first,” he jokes weakly, the pain from his leg making everything seem hazy and hard to do.

Cisco snorts.

“According to my Ma I should propose marriage first.”

That makes Barry laugh.

“Know anywhere that would marry a couple of thirteen year-olds?”

“I’m not sure I want to.”

“You don’t want to be Mr Cisco Allen?”

“Okay, a) I am not taking your name. _Maybe_ I would hyphenate but that’s a big maybe. And b) why do you only hit on me when you’re hurt dude?”

Barry shrugs and winces when it knocks his helmet around his skull. Cisco tuts at him and carefully takes the helmet off for him. 

“Idiot,” he sighs and fluffs up Barry’s limp hair.

“Hey! And I was gonna ask you to a sleep over at my place.”

“Oh yeah that would be fun. Playing nurse for you all night.”

Blushes take over both of their faces when the words finally process through their brains.

“I didn’t mean-”

“I know you didn’t-I didn’t mean either-”

“I meant actually being a nurse!”

“I know!”

They sit there staring at each other in horror before they both break into fits of giggles.

“Your _face_ dude!”

“ _My_ face? Your face was hilarious man!”

Cisco takes off his helmet, long hair swishing all around his glowing face, and Barry feels his breathe catch in his throat. It’s no secret he has a crush on the other boy. And it’s no secret that the crush is returned. But being thirteen and painfully awkward they’ve never managed to really do anything about it. That paired with Cisco’s parents who fluctuate between overbearing and negligent on any given day, and Barry’s many hang ups from his mother’s murder. But Barry thinks that soon, when they get a bit older and a whole lot wiser, then they’ll get their shot.

Though is it a taboo to fall in love with your best friend? Barry hopes not because this is the second time it’s happened to him. Things necessary to win Barry’s heart: Brown eyes. A nice smile. Be Barry’s best friend.

Barry wasn’t a sports nut, was failing gym at school and had to join a team for extra credit to make up for it. And that’s how he started playing Hockey. And that’s also how he met Cisco who was doing the exact same thing. They don’t go to the same School but they quickly bonded over being giant nerds forced to play a game that they were begrudgingly coming to love. The crush was quick to follow their first meeting. Nerds of a feather flock together and all that.

Cisco smiles down at him and Barry’s stomach goes watery in the same way it dose when Iris grins at him. He has a weakness for pretty people. It’s what got him into this situation. No one is faster than Barry on the ice. But he’d heard Cisco laugh, saw a flash of his grin and boom he was on the ice with his leg sticking out at a funny angle.

It was a stupid mistake. But, in a stupid twisted way, he really liked that now all of Cisco’s attention was on him. Not worth the broken bone, but certainly a silver lining.

“Barry!” 

Barry lifts his head to see Iris and Joe bounding towards him, twin looks of frantic worry on their faces.

“Hi guys,” he says weakly as they crowd around him, “I’m sorry you had to come all the way-”

“You’d better not think of finishing that sentence, Bear,” Joe says with fake danger in his voice, his face still wrapped up in worry, “How did you manage to get yourself in this situation, huh?”

“He zigged when he should have zagged,” Iris announces from where she is glaring at his injured leg, “Barry always zigs when he should have zagged. It’s in his genes.”

“I’m sorry Mr West,” Cisco says softly and he has the hesitant huge eyes he always gets when a man is in the room, “I should have had his back.”

“That’s not the position you play son and I know it. It’s not your fault Barry is as clumsy as a new baby giraffe.”

“Wow,” Barry groans, “All of you are so nice to me, the injured party here. Really ten out of ten-“

“Hush.” Isis glares.

Barry shuts up with a gulp. Cisco looks at him with wide scared eyes. Iris is a force of nature when she’s mad and neither want them want a storm directed at them.

“Okay,” Joe announces with a combination of both his cop and dad authorities in his voice, “Let’s get you loaded into the car and off to the hospital. Looks like you’re going to be on crutches for a while, bear.”

“I’m still aloud to play when I get better right, Joe?”

“Like I could keep you away.”

Joe gives Cisco a knowing look and he ducks his head with obvious embarrassment. Barry just smiles.

…

Sometime between them saying goodbye at the hospital that day and Barry getting back to practice, Cisco and his family move away.

…

_(Twelve years later)_

Barry sighs as he wraps the sports tape around the calf of his his bung leg. He’d been knocked down on the ice today for the first time in ten years, which wouldn’t have been so embarrassing if he weren’t in the majors. If he wasn’t in his first year of division one and the new face of the _Central City Speedsters_. 

He zigged when he should have zagged. Same old same old. Only now he's older and doesn't bounce back as fast as he did when he was thirteen. He quickly shakes his head before he can get trapped in memories of his pee-wee hockey days. Memories of wide smiles and the most vibrant dark brown eyes he had ever gotten lost in in his life-

He groans and the sound echoes loudly back at him off the empty locker room walls. The rest of the team have all already piled off together in search of celebratory Christmas pizza and beer. Iris had stuck around long enough to make sure he only twisted his ankle and not scrambled his brains, before she ran into Eddie and suddenly the room was filled with more heart eyes and shy smiles than Barry could stand. He kicked them out and even payed for their pizza to get them going quicker. Though Barry wasn’t sure they would even get that far.

He’s happy for Iris, he really is. She has been working so hard to become a serious journalist she really deserved for find someone. But still sometimes Barry gets jealous or envious or whatever. He’s a professional hockey player, he’s gotten his degree after so many years of juggling sport and school, and yet he feels like he’s … alone. He’s barely ever given a moment to himself but he’s still lonely. Its paradoxical and cold, and those are two things that Barry is usually all about. But recently hes just felt _empty_.

He sighs again and starts to pull his clothes back on, being careful to shake out his muscles. He dose not want to cramp up on the way home and get stuck in the annual Christmas snow storm.

Barry has just gotten his pants on and is reaching for his shirt when the door opens and Couch Well’s walks in with-

“Allen!” Harry calls out grumpily, “Good thing one of you knuckle heads is still here. I’d like you to meet Cisco Ramon.”

 _Cisco_.

Barry stares slack jawed at his old best friend, who dose the same back at him. 

And- and _god_ dose he look good.

His hair is even longer than it had been twelve years ago, falling in natural curls around his shoulders. And though he’s still a bit chubby like he was before, he’s also grown into his limbs and become lean and strong looking. His shoulders make something in Barry's stomach turn fuzzy, and- _and god his eyes_. Those rich dark pools are pulling him in, are still filled with the same spark for life and mischief they always were and oh my god Harry is still talking but it just sounds like trumpet noises to him because Cisco is here and even more beautiful than he was twelve years ago! Barry feels like dropping to his knees to give thanks … and maybe to give other things because Cisco is smiling at him now and _oh lord_ he grew into a really nice set of teeth, how can a persons teeth be _sexy_ -

“Allen!”

Barry jumps at Harry's yell and blushes.

“S-sorry what was that Coach?”

Harry glares at him and then over enunciates;

“Show. Him. The. Rooms. While. I . Make. A. Phone. Call.”

“Oh-okay, yeah sure I-”

Harry is gone before he even gets to okay. And hes alone. 

Alone with Cisco.

 _Shirtless_ and _alone_ with Cisco for the first time since they were thirteen. He is not prepared for this at all.

“Its really you isn't it?”

A shiver goes down Barry's spine at the irreverent tone in Cisco's voice, and the small hopeful smile on his face and just him in general makes very nice shivers race down his vertebra. 

“I'm really me i-if you're really you.”

Cisco laughs and Barry feels like he just won the Stanley cup.

“Yeah. You are totally you, Barry Allen.”

Cisco steps closer and then Harry's words from before finally sink in.

“You're on the team?”

“Yeah,” Cisco beams, “Who'd a thought it, huh? Nerdy me-”

“Nerdy us, dude.”

“-in the majors. On the best team in the majors and not sitting behind microscopes.”

“To be fair I sit behind microscopes in my free time.”

Cisco laughs again and seriously if he keeps that up Barry is gonna have a heart attack no joke.

“Wow,” Cisco sighs, something more sad and liquid coming into his eyes, “I … I think I convinced myself to forget how much I missed you but _man_ \- … I can really feel it now.”

Barry ducks his head as an old pain rears its head.

“I looked for you, you know.”

He hears Cisco step closer and sees him reach his hand out, but he doesn't touch. 

“I'm sorry I didn't come to say goodbye,” Cisco confesses in a whisper that sounds so loud in the silent room, “I wanted to but- my Ma spirited us away in the middle of the night and everything was bad for a long time-”

“I understand,” Barry interrupts, his voice trembling with how much pain he can here in Cisco's words, “I don't blame you for anything.”

“That doesn't make _twelve years_ of silence okay.”

“I-if I really tried I could have found you. Could have asked Joe or hell, googled where you were. Its not all on you.”

Cisco steps closer again and Barry looks up to meet his eyes.

“We've found each other now,” Cisco says and bites his lip.

Then he laughs. Like really full on bell laughs. Barry is slightly offended. 

“Wh-what, dude-!”

“Sorry,” Cisco pants his giggles subsiding slowly, “Sorry- but _dude_ your blush goes like, all the way down?”

Barry hadn't realized he was blushing. He looks down and he is indeed red from face to hips.

Cisco, still laughing, leans forwards and slaps Barry on the chest, just like he used to when they were young, but this time Barry catches his hand and holds it there and then no one is laughing.

No one is laughing and they stand there staring into each others eyes. Barry licks his lips and watches as Cisco's eyes follow the movement. 

“You know,” Barry whispers, leaning his head down towards Cisco's, “I used to dream about you just kissing me in the middle of a game.”

“Yeah,” Cisco breathes, “I had the same dreams.”

“You dreamed about kissing you too?”

“ _Okay_ , you know what dude you may be hot but you are not so hot that I'm going to stand here and-”

Barry catches his mouth in a kiss, breaking the sentence off mid way. Cisco wraps his arms around his neck and returns the kiss with enthusiasm. And then Barry whimpers and oh okay, they are so not just kissing anymore. Cisco bites Barry's lip and drags his nails through his hair and they are five minuets away from being buck ass naked on the locker room floor.

Cisco presses fully against Barry's body and Barry shoves his hands down the back of Cisco's pants which makes Cisco moan and Barry is wondering whose locker hes going to have to break into to find lube-

“ _Jesus Allen!_ ”

They jump apart, wide eyed and flushed like guilty school kids.

Harry stands in the door way glaring at them.

“I told you to show him around not show him _your tonsils!_ ”

“Coach! Um, its not- you see Cisco and I we- I didn't just-”

“Harry you really have the worst timing- do you know how long I've been waiting for this to-”

Harry holds up a finger and they go quiet.

“...I'm going home.”

Barry feels his eyeballs try to leave his skull.

“What?!”

“I have a daughter at home who I want to spend Christmas with, Allen. I am going home and when I come in next week to finalize Ramon's transfer, you two are going to be professional and not humping each other in the team showers, am I clear?”

Barry blanches and Cisco rolls his eyes.

“Good.” he announces and then is gone.

They turn to each other in the silence and Barry feels suddenly bashful.

“Do you- ah, do you want to go and get pizza or something?”

“Yeah. After.”

“A-after what?”

Cisco gives Barry a long, slow, once over and bites his lip.

“Oh.”

“Twelve years is long enough don't you think?”

Barry grabs Cisco's hand and runs out of there, not even bothering to grab a shirt. Cisco will warm him up anyway.

...

(Cisco swipes a team coat for him on the way out so he doesn't turn blue and die.)

(They don't make it out for that Pizza until the day after boxing day.)

**Author's Note:**

> This is dedicated to the lovely Val! Seriously she is so nice and I tried to understand Hockey just for her and this fic. I hope you like your secret Santa present! It was so nice getting to know you! Merry Christmas!
> 
>  
> 
> Note; the author is an Aussie and also bad at sport things but she tried her best.


End file.
